Road trip: Utica to Binghamton

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., demanded Tuesday that the state Department of Transportation immediately provide a timeline for improvement plans for Route 12 that runs from Utica to Binghamton.

Jennifer Fusco

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., demanded Tuesday that the state Department of Transportation immediately provide a timeline for improvement plans for Route 12 that runs from Utica to Binghamton.

In 2002, a local task force worked with Department of Transportation to come up with specific short-term improvements along the route and create a plan for long-term renovation. Since then, of the 29 locations recommended for immediate improvement, only two have been completed, according to Schumer. Schumer says he has secured $24 million in federal money to support the improvements.

A June 2007 study prepared by Barton and Loguidice, an engineering and planning firm based in the Syracuse area, proposed seven possible options geared toward decreasing travel time and increasing the safety of Route 12.

At a hearing last year, Department of Transportation officials said local project plans could include:

- Intersection improvements at the Route 20 interchange in Sangerfield.

- Adding a limited access by-pass in Sangerfield at the intersection of routes 20 and 12.

The O-D spoke to several people who could be affected by any Route 12 upgrades. Here’s what they had to say:

Safety hazard

Sangerfield Town Supervisor Kevin Kelley attended a public hearing about possible improvements to Route 12 last year. At that meeting, Department of Transportation officials made it seem as if more of the work would be done down toward the Norwich area, he said.

However, there are some spots in this area that should be attended to, and the Transportation Department has been putting some of those improvements off, he said.

“There’s a lot of bad areas, like Chuckery Corners,” he said. “Burmaster Hill would be one. They’ve always had trouble there.”

People traveling from Waterville to Utica also experience problems, he said.

“It’s a safety hazard by far,” he said. “It should be handled, it should be done.”

Heading south from Sangerfield, it’s less of an issue because it’s wider roads and safer lanes, he said.

Tough on businesses

Nicholas Matt, president of F.X. Matt Brewing Co., said the brewery sells a fair amount of products toward the Binghamton area and the trucks that transport the product likely experience some of the Route 12 problems.

“If there was a better route directly south out of Utica, we would definitely use it,” he said. “Especially with gas being more expensive and tolls going up.”

This has been an ongoing issue for quite some time, but Matt commended Schumer on trying to bring a timely resolution to the problem.

“We all know it’s not a very good road,” he said. “It’s too bad Route 81 doesn’t go through Utica. You’d like to have something parallel to that. Is that too much to ask for?”

No major issues

Waterville resident Richard Meili often travels Route 12, but said he really doesn’t see any major issues with it.

“It’s adequate for what traffic it carries,” he said.

Some officials have said if the road is improved — made both faster and safer — it could improve the economy by making it easier for people to travel between Binghamton and the Mohawk Valley. But with the economy in as bad of a state it is now, Meili said he doesn’t think a road would fix that.

“I’m a little skeptical as to whether any major improvements are necessary,” he said. “Maybe bypasses around Norwich, but I have no immediate concerns driving to Utica.”

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